Is Roman Reigns Being Booked Like The Rock?

It’s been 17 years since The Rock turned on the people and became The Corporate Champion at Survivor Series 1998. Could his younger cousin Roman Reigns be heading down the same path in 2015?

During the Deadly Game Tournament at the 1998 version of Survivor Series, The Rock completed his rise to the top of WWE by turning in the finals of the tournament to decide the new World Wrestling Federation Champion. Rock sided with The Corporation by locking Mankind in the Sharpshooter (just like Shawn Michaels did during the “Montreal Screwjob” at Survivor Series the previous year) and Mr. McMahon rang the bell, although Mankind never submitted.

Almost 20 years later, The Rock’s younger cousin may be lined up to go through his own ascension to the top of WWE. Roman Reigns is the expected name to come out on top of the current tournament (that will conclude at Survivor Series on Nov. 22) and win his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

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Here’s the thing: Could Reigns be in line to make his own turn and win his first world title just like his cousin did 17 years prior?

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Even without the rumors that Reigns was to go over on Seth Rollins before his knee injury in Ireland, the former is still expected to receive a title run after the Rollins swerve at WrestleMania 31.

Crowds just weren’t on Reigns’ side in the early part of the year when Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble (thanks to The Rock), so WWE made a bold move and it worked by putting the title on Rollins.

But wait, isn’t that similar to The Rock’s rise to stardom?

The Rock was hot in 1998, so for him to make the turn and join the Nation of Domination after his initial start in WWE was a dud, and then make the drastic turn and join The Corporation, were a couple of major moves that WWE made and both paid off.

Believe it or not, the seed has been planted for Reigns to become the new “man” in WWE. This past Monday, Triple H opened the show with a glowing review of Seth Rollins’ prior to his injury and then called Roman Reigns to the ring, being that Reigns won the No. 1 contender’s spot after a fatal four-way match victory the previous week.

The Game mentioned that The Authority really considered Reigns to take the place as the face of the company and actually put the title on Reigns’ shoulder.

This definitely could be the final result at Survivor Series, and despite it technically being done already, this could work.

How?

Let’s look at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship bracket:

Reigns, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose have already advanced in the tournament, and there’s clearly one name that sticks out. Throughout the summer, Reigns and Dean Ambrose fought valiantly together against The Wyatt Family. They stuck together when Rollins seemingly ended The Shield last June.

It’s not crazy to think that the main event of WrestleMania 32 would have been Rollins defending the title against Ambrose, Reigns or both of them. If Reigns was to make a turn at Survivor Series, what better opponent would there be other than Dean Ambrose?

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Reigns could look like a legitimate star in a match with Cesaro (because Cesaro is awesome), followed by a fun match potentially with United States Champion Alberto Del Rio. That would put Reigns in the finals of the tournament.

Further more, it’s not crazy to think Ambrose beats Dolph Ziggler in the second round, followed by a big-time win against Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens (which was rumored to have taken place before Rollins’ injury, too).

That sets it up: Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Survivor Series, or as some would see it, The Rock vs. Mankind for the gold.

Then, bang.

Reigns turns on Ambrose and sides with The Authority in Rollins’ spot as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

With that, it would actually make sense for the heap of fans to boo Reigns, while also helping Reigns in the process. There are times where Roman seems a bit tight on the microphone and in the ring. As a heel with The Shield, Reigns was just a tank of a man who was all about punishment. There’s no comparison to Brock Lesnar, but it’s been proven that this type of character can get over if done properly.

(There’s always the element of Paul Heyman speaking for Lesnar, but you get the idea.)

Like Bleacher Report Guest Pro Wrestling Analyst Matt Camp mentioned, this tournament needs a big-time swerve due to the lack of firepower, including a reference to the 1998 tournament.

Next: WrestleMania 32 Match Card Predictions 4.0

What relevance does The Authority have without Seth Rollins? They need a new face. It’s predictable, yes … but what else can the company really do at this point?